NCVC Dairy

15/10/2026

DISBUD SEASON WRAP-UP! 🐮

A wee season debrief from our Large Animal Veterinary Technician team! 🐄

Each season, we welcome a hardworking crew of casuals who help make up our three disbud teams, led by our amazing team leads Nicole, Alex and Tom S.
The girls (and our honorary vet technician, Tommo! 😉) have been busy turning and burning all over North Canterbury! From as far south as Waikuku Beach, up to Cheviot, through to Hanmer Springs and all around the Culverden Basin, our three teams have certainly covered some ground!

We kicked off the season with a snowy start before settling into those classic sunny North Canterbury days , and we're wrapping things up with just over 27,250 calves disbudded! 🐮🙌

A massive THANK YOU to everyone who makes our disbud season possible! To our farmers, for welcoming us onto your farms and trusting us with your calves. To our hardworking casuals, for all the early starts, long days and dedication to ensuring our clients' calves receive the best possible care. And finally to our fantastic team leads, Nicole, Alex, Brit and Tom S., for keeping everything running as smoothly as possible throughout the season.

We couldn't do it without you all, and we really appreciate the effort, teamwork and enthusiasm everyone brings to the season! ❤️

That's a wrap on another busy disbud season bring on repro!!

01/10/2026

🐄 Keeping our eyes calibrated 👀

The team were out this week for our annual Body Condition Score calibration.

We started by getting hands on with individual cows and comparing scores, before moving onto the mob scoring assessment used to keep our BCS accreditation up to date. There was, naturally, some healthy debate over the odd half a condition score along the way 😂

The timing is pretty handy too, with PSM only a few weeks away for many herds. At mating, the target is a minimum BCS 4.0 for mixed age cows and 4.5 for first and second calvers, so now is a really useful time to know where your herd is sitting.

A BCS check before mating can give you a good snapshot of the herd and help identify any cows or mobs that might need a bit more attention heading into PSM.

If you’d like us to BCS your herd before mating, give your vet a call! 🐄

30/09/2026

🐄 Meet the Team Wednesday 🐄

This week we’re introducing Cassidy, our newest vet and Culverden’s latest Australian import.

Hailing from Coonamble and fresh out of CSU in Wagga, Cass has only been with us a couple of months but has already slotted straight into the team. He’s a quiet achiever, always keen to learn, happy to get stuck into anything, and has very wisely discovered that regular baking earns you plenty of friends around the clinic.

He’s taken everything from rotten calvings to Kiwi “heatwaves” in his stride so far, and we’re stoked to have him on board.

Have a read below and get to know Cass a little better 👇

Name: Cassidy Stratton

Hometown: Coonamble, NSW.

How long have you worked at NCVC?
Coming up on 2 months, goosebumps still haven’t gone away

Favourite part of dairy vet life in Canterbury?
The people. Both clients and coworkers have made me feel so welcome, and I’ve really enjoyed getting to know everyone. It’s also pretty hard to complain about the scenery around Culvy!

As a Coonamble local, what’s your plan for keeping a straight face when the kiwis and pommy's start complaining about the heat at 19°C?
The complaining had started before winter was even over. I don’t reckon I’d have taken my jumper off by 19°C

What’s one thing you’ve learnt on farm in your first few months that no lecture at Wagga could have taught you?
Far too many vet things to list, but more importantly, I’ve learnt where to head for the best fish and chips and pies.

You’re always keen to get involved, what’s the one job you’d happily never put your hand up for again?
Rotten calving at 5:25pm with Ingrid, and it’s not only because it’s with Ingrid

If you could steal one skill from anyone in the clinic, what would it be and whose are you taking?
Sarah McPhee’s ability to back a trailer. At this stage, I’d happily trade most of my (limited) veterinary knowledge for that

24/09/2026

🐄🐕 Fancy a year vetting in North Canterbury? 🐑🏔️

We’ve got a spot opening up in our Culverden team from January 2027 for a mixed practice vet to cover 12 months of parental leave.

This is proper mixed practice, with a strong large animal focus. Think dairy cows, farm calls, the odd smallie and plenty of variety in between.

You’ll be joining a great crew of vets, techs and nurses, with experienced people around when you need them and plenty of opportunity to get stuck in.

And when you’re not working? Hanmer Springs is just down the road, Kaikōura over the hill, ski fields nearby and Christchurch still within easy reach. Not a bad backyard! 🏔️🎿🐋

🚙 Work vehicle
🩺 Around 70–80% large animal
📍 Based in Culverden
📅 12 months from January 2027
🌱 Mentoring and support available

Know a vet who’d suit us? Tag them, send this their way, or come and join us yourself!

Applications with CV and cover letter to [email protected]

04/09/2026

🏉 A bit of friendly rivalry at reception today! 🇳🇿🇿🇦

Jess and Nicky have picked their sides ahead of a big weekend of All Blacks and Black Ferns vs the Boks!

With a healthy mix of Kiwis and South Africans around the clinic, the rivalry is alive and well, we’ll check back Monday to see who’s suddenly “too busy” to talk about the rugby 😂

28/08/2026

🐄🏆 Calf Rearer of the Year nominations are open! 🏆🐄

Know someone who’s spent more time in the calf shed than their own house this spring? Someone who’s gone above and beyond to give their calves the best possible start?

It’s time to give them some well earned recognition! 🌟

Nominate your calf-rearing superstar for Calf Rearer of the Year 2026! 🐮🏆

21/08/2026

🇺🇸 A big thank you to Sofia and Haley, who have spent the past fortnight with us all the way from UC Davis in California!

They’ve been great to have around and have certainly packed plenty into their time here, getting out on farm and seeing a great mix of calls across the basin.

UC Davis is also familiar territory for Alistair, who completed his residency there, so it’s been pretty cool to have a couple of students from his old stomping ground join us here in Culverden!

Thanks for making the trip across the world to spend some time with us, Sofia and Haley. We’ve loved having you and hope to see you back in NZ again! 🐄🇳🇿

22/07/2026

Don't miss all the info and news in our latest What's Up in the District newsletter. Click the link to have a read

What a wild, wet week we’ve had, but at least we've had a kind June overall, which is good for winter feed utilisation and weight gain.

20/07/2026

🐄 Calving season is underway! 🐄

Top tips for those harder pulls, particularly if backwards is to get your calves sitting upright. Pulling the back legs forwards and getting the chest upright allows both lungs to fill and the breathing rate to normalise. A bit of vigorous chest rubbing should help clear the airways and you’re away!

📸 A big thanks to our newest vet, Hannah, for sharing this practical calf tip. Hannah is passionate about calf health, and we’re looking forward to sharing more of her tips and tricks throughout calving season! 🐮

17/07/2026

While we are on a roll with event footage, here are belated photos (apologies for the delay) from our Annual Dairy Seminar and Awards Evening. It was held last month at the Amuri School Gym, with a great turnout to enjoy the night's informative speakers and celebrate the annual awards! Guest speakers were:

- Fonterra, (Justine Arroll) - speaking on the current geopolitical space and how Fonterra is managing our export markets in these turbulent times.
- MPI Biosecurity (Andrew Sander) – talking around foot and mouth risk and some good control and management planning occurring in NZ, and what you can do on farm.
- Meet the Need (Danielle Williams) – a charity organisation, and how Fonterra farmers can contribute and donate.

GM Andrew Thompson opened with a welcome, and NCVC vet extraordinares Trish & Alistair did a wrap-up of the season, with district benchmarking and our local award winners. This year, we split the awards into larger farms and smaller farms, each with its own varying aspects of management associated with herd size. Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to Robin Willis and Zoetis for their support of the event:

Milk Quality - Smaller Herd
1st Jackson Partnership Ltd - Kaituna - 51,000 SCC
2nd Matakana - 66,000 SCC
2nd Greta Paddock - 66,000 SCC
3rd Harakeke Dairy Ltd Partnership - 74,000 SCC

Milk Quality - Large Herd
1st Medstone Dairy 2013 Ltd - 69,000 SCC
2nd Triangle Dairy Ltd - 80,000 SCC
3rd Te Pahau Limited Partnership - 87,000 SCC

Reproductive Performance (6 week in calf) - Smaller Herd
1st Dairykings Ltd - 85%
2nd Upper Balmoral - 83%
3rd Apollo Dairy - 80%
3rd Clifton Dairy - 78%

Reproductive Performance (6 week in calf) - Large Herd
1st Pahau Dairy Ltd - 79%
2nd Spotswood Plains - 77%
3rd Ballindalloch Farm Ltd - 76%
3rd Mcintosh Dairy - 76%
3rd Longbrook Dairy Ltd - 76%

Most Improved Dairy Reproductive
Clifton dairy - +15%

Most Improved Milk Quality
Jackson Partnership Ltd - Riverside – 195,000 SCC